from the depths of the freezer...the return of veggie lasagna!!

look at this lovely slice o'lasagna -- need i say more?

yes, we are normal people, eating things from the freezer. it was as delicious as the first time, too. Grazie Chef.

Wondering what's inside? Yes, veggies. But to be more specific: eggplant, zucchini, Chef's famed mushroom Bolognese, onions, tomatoes. And of course, formaggio.




And the insalata:

an heirloom blend of lettuces, CSA radish and carrots, nicoise olives (tiny purples), artichokes, our home-sprouted crunchy sprouts, and some dollops of creamy goat cheese.
Also, Chef made an emulsion vinaigrette. Ya know when you make an oil and vinegar and it separates? Well, an emulsion is the magical tactic that unites the mixture. An emulsion is made by slowly whisking oil into vinegar and adding something extra such as mustard. Chef used his homemade seedy mustard. Robusty!

brrrrreatoe time

una mas, una mas! ja ja ja (that's how my Argentinian facebook friends type LOL)!

It has been some time since we feasted hispanic style (does that sound racist or am I being overly sensitive??). Tonight, Chef broke the spell and dazzled me with a flavorful burrito.

A great burrito requires a great filling and for me, my filling of choice is the one-two punch of rice and beans. Arroz y frijoles! Since we have a 15 pound bag of jasmine rice, that's Chef go-to grain - move over uncle ben (you had to see that coming).  Chef cooked the rice with onions, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and red beans.

Once cooked, Chef scooped the arroz y frijoles onto a tortilla and topped it with cherry tomatoes*, salsa verde, shredded jack & cheddar cheese, red onion, and homemade hot sauce.  And a speckling of cilantro.

*in a fit of weakness, Chef had a breakdown, buying out-of-season tomatoes from the grocery store and the not farmers market. he is asking for forgiveness

In other news, Burlington, Vermont will be hosting what they plan to be the world's largest cowbell ensemble. The record to beat: 1.306 cow bell tollers in Glarus, Switzerland. And here's the food-related 'scoop' - Ben & Jerry's will be there giving away a free scoop of their ice cream! Heehee I am giddy with the thought of free ice cream! Date: April 14th. Road trip anyone??

let the couscous loose!

Another one of those "blank canvass" foods, couscous is versatile and takes up flavors easily. It is a tiny pasta-like granule and is made from hard wheat aka durum wheat as in the famous pasta wheat, semolina. Hard wheats, fyi, boast a high protein content - no, not in steak proportions but in wheat proportions - which contributes to a flour that is high in gluten content. And to finish up the wheat lesson, gluten is what gives bread its elasticity.

And to go a little bit further, if you are having tummy troubles you might want to try to rid your diet of gluten products to test the effects. I'm a pasta for life kinda gal, so it's not like I'm pushing this drastic change but it has helped other people ease the belly in terms of girth and discomfort.

Besides being pretty easy to cook, couscous is fun to eat and cleans up nicely - like, you can get it dressed up and make it look oh so fancy! And if you hadn't guessed already, the Chef prepared it incredibly well seasoned and flavorful. Using our CSA veggies - leek and sweet potatoes - and digging into the freezer, the fava beans <Luke, I am your FAVA>, Chef sauteed these guys with olive oil and cumin (he totally gets me!). Meanwhile, Chef made toaster oven shrimp scampi with white wine, garlic, parsley, butter, and a lil bit of that olive oil and of course, the power couple, the S&P.

Behold, the salad- that'd be arugula on the bottom - so peppery, so tender, but not so visible in the photo... Topped with slice o' radish, red pepp, some chiogga beets (CSA nicety, notice the striations, there's a big purple plunker in the background) and some dat' goat cheese with Chef's vinaigrette. There is a reason why you may see the beet & goat cheese salad on so many menus and that is because it is, hand's down, one of the best pairings on the planet. Try it, be a fancy pants, and relish it!

Divine, simply divine!

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

sacre bleu! 

the holy trinity

Chef got roux'd up today and prepared a Cajun gem, gumbo.


The essence of gumbo, in case you weren't aware, is built upon the backs of the following:

1. the roux. the R-O-U-X, roux. "Cook it dark,"says Chef, "to develop the flavor."
2. the holy trinity: the New Orleans mirepoix, the celery, the onyawn, and the bell peppa

First, chef developed the roux, and blessed it with the holy trinity. Chef then added a broth mixture - he has an infinite stockpile/arsenal of assorted broths in the freezer. Today, he chose his big hitters: a shrimp selection made from our leftover shrimp peels, and the famous fumet, that's fish stock (ala rockfish, see my fish fumet friday post on March 2nd) made a couple of weeks ago. 


The second part of the 'bo: Chef added frozen okre, cooked shrimp, and get ready for it -- drum roll -- have you guessed it yet? Oysters!!  These shelled filterers of nasty polluted water (mmm!! biology is so cool and delicious!) were Chincoteagues from the Chesapeake Bay region. From the Chef's Resources website, "True Chincoteague oysters ... have a distinctive briny flavor followed by a sweet finish." 'Briny,' now there's something that makes me salivate! After the addition of the shellfish, Chef continued the cook on low, low heat in the cast iron dutch oven.   

Plated up and presented to moi, the gumbo adorned a hearty scoop of Jasmine rice and was graced by chopped parsley.  Ah yes, let the good times roll!  

we be clammin'

Chef prepared and served a possible "death row meal" tonight - (the other possibility, if you are curious, is dungeness crab) - linguini in white clam sauce!

what made it even specialer was that Chef went to a fish market and bought the fresh stuff (see right). woohoo baby, littleneck clams! tons of fresh parsley, clam juice, a little extra extra chopped clams from the can and hoila!
and what else? the last of the shiitake stewed up with some escarole on the side. Chef, you can make that for me anyday!

If I had my choice, I would only eat pasta the next day as a leftover. But tonight will do just fine!

2 cabbages 2 ways!

tonight's din: a little kick back to Chef and I's Eastern European roots but not exactly the cooking of our Nanas, since they were famous for ketchup & macaroni night.

Chef prepared 2 cabbages: the green stuff and the red stuff. the green was sauteed - low & slow - with olive oil and butter, caraway seeds, salt & peppy. Talk about tender cabbage, and have you ever had caraway seeds, it makes everything divine! He dug into the fridge and released the red cabbage sauerkraut he fermented in the winter and warmed that up, too. Tah dah (!) 2 cabbages, 2 ways! Chef placed these two cabbage cousins on the plate, topped them with pierogie (potato filled pasta, genius!) and then topped that with a few dollops of goat cheese.

Chef also made his faboo warm potato salad with mustard. once you have this tater salade, you will never want that mayo business again. trust me, you'd love it*!

*yes you should have read that with your best, most obnoxious Long Island accent.

conquering meat and other tales

this is not sequential but nonetheless/
in true american tradition, Chef and I observed the 17th of march holiday by joining up with a celebration of not only the fizzy sort of beverages but also that meat stuff. this year's celebration was especially notable due to several marked events - a birth, a birthday, and a veg lady's embark on corned beefdom, and amongst these hosts, a choice line up of characters made it a notably fun, fun weekend.  but since this is a food blog, I'll keep it to that and to a mystique by observing anonymity too. onward to the beef--
with a few deep breaths, the St. Patty's day chef slid two hunka hunkas of those red meats went into a big pot with water and the season packets. phew! not too terrifying a task as evidenced with not as many exuberant vocalizations I had expected to hear from our St. Patty's chef!   A few hours later, she added some carrots and <holy heck> awesome colorful fingerling potatoes. yes, even purple! how exciting!! but that was not all, a broiled salmon joined by roasted veggies - leeks (what a great day! purple potatoes AND leeks(!)), zucchini mamas, peppers, and more vegetable friends. it was a grand spread and the St. Patty's chef nailed the beef, remarked the Chef. Only three thin little slices of the meat stuff remained after the meal! Bravo and thank you St Patty's chef! And, did I mention there was cake? yes, chocolate.  

but before all that fun, the Chef had quite a night mentoring and organizing his students. their school participated in a very unique event. they were asked to prepare food for all attendees (300+) at a fundraiser for a local non profit in a top chef type of food competition. talk about tension!! an eco-minded event, the majority of the ingredients came from local farms, dairies, and ... meat producers (what's a better term for this??). goat cheese, milk, dinosaur kale (OMG!), sweet potatoes, goat meat, turkey, beef, eggs, beets, oysters, perch, spinach, mushrooms, and much more! the top guy beer guy of Baltimore was there, the maker/owner/hero guy of heavy seas beer - i told him i loved his beers (giggle giggle). it was quite an undertaking - 40 or so students and dedicated chefs prepped all week and late the night before. down to the minute, it went off without a hitch. woohoo to the group of alumni students & chefs and present ones as well!

and to bring it all up to date, my din-din from tonight:

Chef fried rice!  he mixed in a little hoisin sauce with a veggie array of baby bok choy, chinese eggplant, freshy shiitake mushrooms, ginger, onions, marin-tofu, cilantro. all that shoved in the pie hole with chop sticks...

tonight's b(l)ee(g)

dinner was a one hand on the wheel and the other one strangling a fish taco from the local taco joint around the corner from my place of employment. yes, fast food BUT not from a chain. and when i got home, i discovered the most heinous thing - a smashed black frijoles attached to the seat of my pantalones. can you imagine!!

the real enjoyment of the evening took place back at the nature center (yes more frogs were heard in the parking lot! and cookies at intermission! and more stuffed dead animals) during the beginner's beekeeping course. tonight's lecture was on bee biology, followed by some beginner's information.

we got to watch an awesome film - it was from the 1970s! It was originally on 16mm film! Do you feel the enthusiasm for nature films in their original format?? However, "The Life of the Honeybee," had been digitized - still, it had that reminiscent feel of high school and a darkened classroom of drowsy teens; but this film was really, and i mean REALLY good!!

The basic bee bio thing you need to know: the 3 types of bees -
1. The Queen lives for 3-4 years and whose sole purpose is to lay eggs.
2. The Drones are the males and will live in the hive for about a year (then they are driven out by the females - WOOHOO! - at the end of Autumn when food becomes scarce. Say goodbye to the free ride buddy!), they do not have a stinger, and their sole purpose is to mate with the Queen.
3. The Workers are the females and they do everything (protection, feeding, building, foraging, etc) except mate. They live for 6 weeks - they work themselves to death.

here are 3 of my most favorite neat bee-bio things:

• when a bee returns to the hive with an abdomen (key insect word) full of nectar, SHE (the females do ALL the work) does a little wiggle dance to show the others where to find some of the sweet stuff
• bees control the population of their hive by swarming. did you know that? I did not. So the swarm, made up an ousted Queen and her workers (all females), will leave a hive and search for a new one. Actually, the workers will cover the queen to keep her safe while others go looking for a new spot. They come back and do wiggle dances to describe where their spot is located and then, by consensus (how, i don't know), they decide on where to go. Usually this happens when a new Queen is born. 
• worker bees (the females) make wax from glands on their abdomen and then use the wax to build the perfectly hexagonal cells in different sizes for all sorts of uses from rearing young, to storing nectar, honey, etc. But, I think i might have written about that last week, so here is another one - PHEROMONES! the queen gives off a pheromone to attract the workers to her beck and call as well as to attract males to mate with AND when a worker bee stings (only the females sting), she emits a pheromone that puts the others in 'alarm mode'

and if you were wondering, the Chef's fave fact is that the sole purpose of the drone bee (the male) is to have sex with the queen. typical male.

Golabki Galore!

before oven time

Are you thinking gah-what?!? Also known as golumpki, or gwumpki, golabki (pronounced however you can sound it out) is stuffed cabbage! Now are you thinking, oh yeah, that's right ... right?

It's a nice old world European meal - golabki being the Polish counterpart - and what better time to eat a cabbage friendly meal than during St. Patty's time.

Please check out the glam shots of Chef's special golabki.

out of the oven, so steamy!

<pausing for oh's and ah's>

the traditional stuffed cabbage is about 30% ground meat (beef/turkey/pork) and 70% rice - over vice versa depending on the cook.

so what's so special about these golabkis? other than their super fine good looks? Chef, using his skills and vision, crafted a masterpiece. First, he built his pistata = the carrot - onion - garlic in olive oil saute mix. next, using our massive
food processor (its new, and i might be bragging, but just only slightly), the Chef put baby bella mushrooms in for a fine chop. He took that chop and added it to the pistata on the stove; a splah of red wine - oh la la - and finally cooked jasmine rice was added to complete the filling. Chef had blanched a dozen or so cabbage leaves, added the filling, and rolled those babies up. Into the oven with a little stewie tomato topping, and <drum roll> bada boom, bada bing - Golabki for your babki!

what did the broth say to the vegetable?

i see your balls are hanging! matzo balls that is!

in this corner, weighing in at 72 ounces, and 12 ingredients, the refrigerator cleaner outer, the guy in the stainless trunks, the belly buster, the man from la mancha ... the matzo ball minestrone SOUP!! (cue the yays from the audience)

and in this corner, weighing not nearly as much but just pretend because otherwise this wouldn't make any sense because the competitors must be in the same weight class but then why would soup and salad be fighting, anyway just go with it, ok? as i was saying, in this corner, the lean green fighting machine, dressed in a ginger carrot trunk (dressing) --- the refresher ... the gut suppressor ... the SALAD!! (cue different yays from the audience).

its a big city soup story of forbidden love...matzo ball sneaking around and diving into an affair with a steamy Italian minestrone. a dumpling traditionally made in chicken fat shedding the animal byproduct for a wholly veggie meal...(meatless monday people!). the co-conspirators in this romance-drama, the supporting cast, the misfit bunch: Baltimore-raised broccoli, cauliflower, green beans (these were canned over the summer), carrots, onions, turnips, and kale (dried from the summer); and the super misfit bunch, the who the heck knows the origins of these guys - pinto beans, canned tomatoes, frozen peas (bought for supplementary ice pack), and okra (what?).  

for those about to BROC ... we salute yOU!

hey how you doin'?

who of you'ts out there from the new yawk-new JERSEY areas don't know what i'm tawkin'bout? broccoli rabe, baby, broccoli rabe!  what better way to welcome back the sunlight than a pasta dish with the BROC!

for those who have yet to experience the broccoli rabe. like you un-Italians, or Boston-metro area residents, I suggest you seek out the broc when it is on sale, Or not, whatever. once you have it, grab your pasta - we had shells, but the standard spaghetti is good too- you'll want to boil some water (2 pots, one for pasta, one for BROC), do a blanch on that BROC and then transfer it into a sauté pan with oil & garlic. after that pasta boils, drain it, and add the pasta to the pan with the BROC. you'll have EYE-talian heaven (esp if you are generous with the gahhhlick) for dinner in less than 20.  if you're into it, add some crumbled up sausage, if that's the way you lean...

welcome back sun! who doesn't love daylight savings, right? is there a such thing as day light savings in Afghanistan? and why are people such disagreeable s.o.b.'s on day light savings, ie. phone calls at 5:30 am from who the heck knows who and door bells at 7:30 am.

baack to the food ...
to end on a happier note, yes of course we had salad tonight, "Goat cheese and beets are like the best combination ever", sayeth the Chef. I concur, Chef! I think we finally finished our 5 green salad blend. i'm going to miss that blend ... but there are more good eats in my future, stay tuned!

Souper souped-up Saturday

Tonight, I begged Chef to go easy on my tummy and put in an order for soup. 20 minutes later, I got what I wanted ... and I think he did too. (I just confirmed with Chef, soup is what he wanted too.)

Super SOBA!

CSA-Asian soup - a soup like no other; a soup featuring a fusion of Asian influences; a soup utilizing fresh winter veggies; a soup...haha gotcha. Here's the ingredient break-down--
Japanese miso broth & buckwheat soba noodles combined with (home) made-in-Vermont Korean style kimchi. Other Asian influences include ginger, edamame (one more tick mark on the Japanese list), thai chili paste, Tamari, toasted sesame oil, and, as garnish, hot & spicy nori (seaweed - that's some real Sponge Bob stuff). I think Chef jammed in most of our CSA delivery from yesterday for the veggie elements - broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, radish, onion. And for an extra crunch and protein (not that kind of protein), Chef added some of our home-sprouted sprouts (freshly sprouted yesterday). The kimchi, nori, & chili paste gave the soup a lil' zap o' spice that I'm still feeling on my lips, but fully enjoying. This soup, this soup, I tell ya it was exactly the right thing.

(forced) lactose tolerance

"there's no binge like a free binge," Chef, 2012

It has been a week since the (free) mass quantities of dairy have arrived in the house and we have almost, almost consumed all of it. (And did I mention neither Chef nor I have drank a full glass of milk since elementary school?) Ugh, milk, gross...except with cereal; and Chef reports, with a smile, that he would only drink the leftover milk in the cereal bowl if it had changed colors and was enhanced with - what else- sugar (!). Alternatively, the solid forms of dairy are favored and prized around here: cheese and ice cream, bring it! But since it was all free, hey, welcome to my fridge milk and half-and-half. The whole gang is on the right - whole milk, skim milk, half-n-half, a goat cheese (or what's left), bleu cheese (similar comment), and empty glass bottle of heavy cream (which is now on my hips), and a great addition to our freezer - Chefmade homemade ice cream is in the back left (vanilla w/a speckling of real vanilla beans).

But, the plus side of this dairy haul is that all of it is from local producers who have that organic ethic (yay)! The milk is from a dairy in PA, Trickling Springs Creamery, and the cheese (OMG the cheese) is from about 3 hours west of Baltimore from the FireFly Farms Creamery. The cheese is made from goats, giving it a hint of a sour flavor but so creamy and so fine. I'm not a refined food snob, so I won't say that when I eat this cheese I taste notes of grass and azalea but ... it's totally freshy-fresh cheese from well-taken-care-of animals who are eating what they want and should (not corn, not bonemeal) and the result is purely grande fromage - and I'm just not saying that because it was free, and no, this is NOT a commercial!! Now, the FarmFriends Milk: 1. comes in glass containers, old school, I like!, 2. the cows are pastured, 3. no synthetic hormones rBST or rBGH, 4. has information printed on the bottle about how the dairy-iers use practices that respect the environment. Another neat thing about the milk is that they print the "edition" on the bottle; I'm not sure what that means, but its neat, and yes 2012 appears on our bottles (phew).

Final remarks:
this has been a period of forced lactose tolerance for me. for one, we have all this milk and though i would for it to become ice cream, a constant supply of the treat may not be in my best interest; i mean, bikini season is coming up -- oh how i crack myself up! back to that tolerance thing - most people lose their ability to produce lactase, an enzyme that's sole purpose is to digest lactose, a sugar in milk, after their bodies have developed into 'adulthood' (physical, not emotional) - in other words, babies are born with the ability to digest lactose in milk until about the time they are weaned from it. Doesn't that make sense? Look at nature: Lactose is a common sugar found in milk produced by all mammals, and do you see adult animals drinking milk? That's just my bio-geek insight for the day or week; jeez what kind of bio-geek would i be if i only had one insight a week? Anyway, how about I end with a cute pic of Cheez, our resident milk enthusiast?

let me tell you 'bout the fishes and the bees

it was a rockin' fish Thursday! 

Chef took two Rockfish filets from the freezer (see fish fumet Friday for more deets), defrosted them, dipped those guppies in some flour (he teased me by telling me he had added cumin to the flour), and did a quick fry up in the skillet. it wasn't a deep fry, just a fry in a little bit of oil. The thin coat of flour made that fish lively, and a rockin'! crisp. Spritzed with some fresh lemon and oh la la - gimme that filet o'fish! 

the sides -- green kale with black eyed peas. Yes(!) greens and beans sans ham. What could be better? Ham you say? Really? Not tonight, which reminds me back to the presentation we saw earlier this week on food waste. As the author was discussing how cheap food has become, he switched slides to a photo of an poster in a grocery store window that read "Pork 99 cents/lb" and underneath that price, "Happy Passover!" Our second side dish featured mashed red skin potatos with roasted garlic and a shot of milk...our dairy binge continues. oh and of course, butter wiggled its way into that glorious velvety potato dish. 

and now, onto those bees... 

Chef and I enrolled in a beekeeping short course offered by the Central MD Beekeepers Association. We hustled with dinner and scampered off out of the city to a nature center (YESSS!) in the area known as "the county."  Not only did we get our first dose of the season of frog calls - peepers, wood frogs, and maybe someone else - but we also got handouts and cookies! Exciting. During break, I went outside hoping that the Chef could quickly download an app for owl calls, but he just laughed at me and headed back in for a cookie. Good thing I followed because I found the fudge stripes; I hadn't had a fudge stripe since I worked at a nature center back in '00's. So here is some fun bee facts: 

bees need 2 things to survive: carbs (nectar) and protein (pollen): for that, they need floral sources (but of course!). Normally, when you begin beekeeping, you must order bees and the usual starter package contains around 10,000 LIVE bees! The post office will deliver the bees in a cage with a separate compartment within the cage for the Queen. You will then have a 3 lb package of live bees outside of their hive, disoriented, and hungry! I guess in week 3 or 4 we will find out how the heck you get those jet lagged, cranky bees into a hive ... Here are some stats for you numbers folks from tonight's lecture: 

• there are 1,531 beekeepers in MD;
• 1,780 apiaries (places where bees are managed) in MD; 
• 9,800 colonies in MD and 2.5 M colonies of bees in the U.S. (registered with departments of agriculture); 
• and the industry is worth $40M in MD and $15B in the U.S. 

Stay tuned, bee bio will be covered next week! And yes, hopefully I will be donning the get-up at the last meeting in April!

a little spice for your knowledge receptacle

its been an I-like-Baltimore kinda day: (1.) the sits-on-a-crate guy who asks for money didn't tell me to eff off when i didn't fork over some pocket change, (2.) i didn't see anything undesirable on the sidewalk such as vomit, man doo or even fresh (note fresh) dog doo on my walks to/from work today, and (3.) we got to take advantage of a dinner/HH special at a local-hole-in-the-wall. peeled and ate my way through a pound of steamed shrimp with the Chef and an Uncle. Plus the place had a "notable" beer list; at $2 a pint, we drank the good stuff!

since we went out to eat tonight, i'm going to try to give the blog a different spin...

intro: Being a little sister, I have this innate tendency that makes me somewhat of a tag-along. it's a birth order thing, ok. Recently, i tagged along with Chef to a presentation at McCormick's Innovation Center in Hunt Valley. Yes, that McCormick...I'm picturing their old packaging, little tins of this and that in my mom's cabinet, white, red, and a little blue, stacked on top of each other against the wall...Anyway, in lieu of a what-I-ate-for-dinner/ what-Chef-cooked-for-dinner blog tonight, I thought I'd take my inspiration from my trip to Pepper Road and report on a spice that I love, called CUMIN!

more on cumin ... don't think you've ever had it? think again! have you had hummus? if so, you've had CUMIN! and chili? most chili powders include CUMIN in the mix! what else? cumin is an essential spice in most global cuisines east of here like India, the Middle East, and North Africa...dating back to Ancient Egypt when it was cultivated in Nile River Valley, cumin has been traced along the ancient trade routes north, east and west and eventually into the Americas by the Spanish when they arrived in Mexico*. Cumin, the spice, comes from the seed of the small white flowers the plant produces; it is an annual plant that is ready for harvest after four months*. too much booky-boring-type info? Let's talk about eating it ... incorporated into the meat-favoring type of diet, you can use cumin as a flavorsome rub for your steaks or include with a taco filling sauté. I'd put the stuff in any bean puree (hummus), or a black bean soup, too. Oh CUMIN. Idea: steamed shrimp with cumin on top -- Take that (!), Old Bay... Old Bay is very big down here in Merlin. (Old Bay list of ingredients, surprisingly, does not include cumin; it does, however, include celery seed, paprika, mustard, bay leaf, b&r pepper, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, salt, mace (huh?), and ginger). Anyway another spin on this spice is to take the seeds and toast them in a saute pan - the result, instantaneous foodie status as you waft the intense aromas as essential oils are release in the heating process. You can use your toasted cumin in a puree type soup or salads featuring grains like couscous or quinoa....right, that yuppie crunchy granola stuff.

conclusion: Try cumin. You'll like it's flavorsomeness. Set forth and explore the depths of its flavor!

*I learned this from the McCormick website, check it out for some recipes and purty food pics.

corn ... winter style

tonight was a throw back to the rustic, to the summer, and to a hearty winter meal.



by this, I mean, POLENTA. my friends, POLENTA. i hate to say this but the part you can't really see in that pic on the left, is the word "grits." EECK! I feel so southern .... ahh hem, i mean, southern italian! prego!

POLENTA! ever have it? you should try it, it is home-chef-friendly but of course having CHEF make it for you, is pretty darn nice. so Chef used this mix, the Bob's Red Mill. he actually made it yesterday, stowed it in the fridge, then cut triangles today and put it in the cast iron pan on some hot, hot oil. a crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside triangle of corny, corn-like goodness ... POLENTA!! From the freezer, Chef pulled out some of our foraged hen of the woods  mushrooms from "the season" and warmed those puppies up in a saute pan with, what else (?), cream. (we have been on a genuine dairy binge lately).

yea, so that was dinner and then we ran after the bus to attend a restaurant re-opening party and ate again, but mostly schmoosed. yes, me. Ok not really me, mostly just Chef ... open bar and all.

an ode to popeye

there is a story about a little boy who, after watching popeye cartoons, wanted to grow huge muscles and begged his mother for some spinach. she gave into the request, went to store, and bought the canned popeye variety. well that little boy ate that canned spinach, retched, and swore the green stuff off for life. the moral to the story? canned spinach stinks, try the real stuff!!

buying into a CSA, especially in the winter, you tend to get several 'repeat' items. so it is with spinach this winter. but i am not complaining. it is quite a visually appealing and flavorful leafy green! this is not the conventional, dull, flat leaved mushy bagged variety many people are familiar with. the leaf is shiny, dark green, and has texture, almost crumpled* as if you can see the moisture and goodness just below the surface.  (*That would be crumpled in a very stylish manner, not slovenly or unattractive.)

we had a quick pasta dinner tonight with, you guess it, spinach!! then scampered off to a presentation at the library about what else(?) food! here's the meal in a zip...spinach was prepared with the trifecta - olive oil, garlic, & red pepper flakes. then tossed with spaghetti.
Salad, of course. switched the beets out for some black eyed peas. i like beets but it is good to take a day off:: if you've had several days of beets in a row, even a slice or two, you know what i mean ; ) that tender tasty salad green mix that i have been RAVING about; i seriously think they get better each night! ((v. happy with this salad mix)) a few little cheddar slivers, radish, carrots, and a balsamic topping...delightful!

and that talk we went to was informative. The author of American Wasteland, Jonathan Bloom, spoke about food waste. Here are some figures (I took notes): 40% of our (American's) food gets wasted, that's 160 billion pounds, equalling $240 Billion, and at home, about a quarter of our food goes in the trash. Craziness, but believable, yes/ Bloom said that if only 2% of this waste was redistributed, we could end hunger (I guess in America, but imagine if he meant the world?!). He also spoke briefly about food recovery and gleaning projects which is basically saving those undesirables, like bruised fruits and veggies, from being thrown away and then redirecting it to charitable organizations. (Think a cleaner dumpster-less version of dumpster diving). Talk about a lot to chew on!

just another rustic sunday

ahh Sunday ... a day of crockpot creation. this means an easy day of dishwashing for me - woohoo!; not like last night's calgon take me away clean up!
  Into the crockpot went some CSA green kale, carrots, lentils, broth, and seasonings. on went the crockpot for hours and hours. on the stove, some jasmine rice - Chef bought a huge bag like forever ago making it  the go-to grain. the kale crockpot creation was bowled up on a bed of rice and topped with some grated parm. I do like this dish, Jen be me. I like this dish of kale lentils and cheese. ha HA!

next course of course, salad.

  onto that bed of mixed greens from the farmers market, some dollops of goat cheese (creamy and a tad sour, yum!), sliced radish (my power veg), celery (oh the crispness), and some broccoli (wockily). Chef's special soy vinaigrette dressing too. and how could i forget the beet. my favorite way to eat this salad was to take a dollop of cheese, and mush it onto the beet slice with the back of my fork. ahh, a massage for your taste buds! another great thing about salad blends is eating each leaf individually, to hone both your visual identification and tasting skills. We realized that there was a baby red russian kale in this salad blend that we overlooked last night using this method of salad eating. the salad world is quite vast!

kale...the leaf, the green, the legend! i can name 3 species; dinosaur kale (Lacinto kale), green kale, and red kale. kale is so big right now. it has quite a following. there are bumper stickers campaigning its edibility. its at the top of its game: it has even broken through into the chip world! i just hope that this rise to fame is not followed by a plummet. i just hope the day doesn't come where we see kale on the cover of a tabloid featuring a tell-all story - its flirtation with the "dark side" of the agricultural world and addiction to chemical fertilizers and miracle gro...

elastic waistband, how i love thee

tonight was a tummy crusher!

let's start with the salad, even though it was eaten last. This morning, we actually got our rears in gear in time to make it up to the year-round outdoor farmer's market. Sure, we are in the mid-atlantic, experiencing a scarf-less winter but yet, aren't you impressed - a year-round outdoor farmer's market! and it only took us until March to get there! Other than a notable run-in with a super swell & friendly Great Dane named Mandy (shout out to Mandy, thanks for letting me scratch your head. what conditioner do you use by the way, your noggin' was so silky! ), we snagged a bag of a blend of leafy salady greens such as Mizuna (you should really eat this leaf), red lettuce, baby mustard greens, and frisee (oh la la) at the market. <<Pause for food coma resuscitation.>> Atop the green mix, we had some of those beets from last night, carrots, radish, and bleu cheese triangles. More on that cheese, it was another sweet, free hook-up from yesterday - goat's milk cheese from a local cheesemaker here in MD, Firefly Farms.  And the dressing! a new Chef original soy-vinaigrette.

And in the beginning ... there is the, entree. Simple side: CSA broccoli, steamed. Garnish for the main, carmelized onions - low & slow is the name of the game! Second garnish for the main, Chef's science project from the fall - homemade saurkraut...fermentation, people, it's a wonderful thing!!  The main, potato pierogie - boiled then sauteed with butter & oil - oh the combo! Now, get ready ... introducing a new ingredient and something I have only eaten once before -- the celery root! Ahh that ugly thing that looks like its rotting away on the shelf of some produce shelves in somewhat reputable
grocery stores. You know, you pass it by as you make a wrinkly face, "what is that poor piece of whatever it is, how in the world does anyone prepare such a thing. and why would anyone want to eat something so, so unattractive looking?" Ok, so it might be more realistic to say that you have never really noticed the celery root before, let alone even thought about eating it.  Back to my eating it... the Chef confided that he had never even touched the prized root until he worked for a famed French chef. At that point, he was cooking it every day. And then when he cooked it for me, I felt like a fancy lady who eats fancy food. (Tonight, I happen to just feel like a well-fed fancy lady, if you are curious.) The Chef takes the celery root, peels it, cubes it, puts it in a saucepan with milk, boils it, then purees it. Pretty simple, n'est pas? Oh my: Retraction...the return of buerre noisette. To that puree, the Chef added buerre noisette. Shoot! <<another pause for food coma, Elastic pants take me away!  The celery root was divine, by the way -- an aromatic celery essence with a mashed potato consistency. Yes, you should consider trying this root.

fish fumet friday

fish FUMET, not fish fry on this friday night.

fumet = french word for broth made outta poisson; our gilled, scaled comrades from the aquatic environs. see example, right (do you see that head??)

today, the Chef went to the newly re-vamped Broadway Market and bought an entire Maryland Rockfish, head and all. He had it filet'd at the counter but took home all the bones and the head. Why the head? Because he wanted to get his money's worth! Nah, not entirely, he asked for the head because he had fumet on the brain (did you think i was going to say head again? <smiley face with a winky eye>). What else could finish off Chef's fumet, other than the fish head? Two of the great onions - shallot & leek, senor lemon, garlic, parsley, white wine, & carrots.

But that wasn't dinner tonight. No, we did not consume fumet with fish head. Instead the Chef cooked up those aforementioned filets as a 5 star tagaZ- rated highly recommended dish. oh my, yes, it was so good. So Good. Out came the saute pan: Chef chopped up some more leeks and sweated them in the olive oil & butter  (genius culinary combination), then he added some white wine and reduced; in went the fish & some fumet (fumet sans fish head). This cooked until the fish was done. Chef removed just the fish and then added (gasp) heavy cream to the sauce in the pan. In went frozen fava beans <<pause for a giggle from the scene from that movie with the guy in the mask in jail talking to the FBI girl; wow this would have been much better had i remembered the title of the movie>> But the flavor and uses of fava beans is really not a laughing matter, people! this is a great, versatile legume. <note period, not exclamation point>. And frozen instead of fresh because they are out of season. Back to that wine, i only had a little nib, if you were wondering; sit back, this is going to be a long entry tonight. that reminds me, Silence of the Liver. Back to that dinner...The fish with its dressing of leek and fava beans, was accompanied with sweet potatoes sauteed in Buerre noisette & parsley. If you use a foreign word for butter to describe your meal, you don't consume all the calories of said food, right?

Hoila!

This was really my first time eating rockfish. The chef bought a local, Chesapeake fishie - a notable species in this region of the U.S. of A.  Cooked, I found it to be flaky, and mild. And The Chef cooked it up perfectly; no sogginess, no fishiness. And if that heavy cream turned you off, it was just a small amount - not a gross, heavy creaminess you get from some cheap alfredo from a jar or chain restaurant. It was an uplifting, luxurious, and inspiring light cream sauce. Yes, that's right, I said inspiring!

And what else? Beet plate! As I mentioned yesterday, today was CSA day... Chef roasted those rooties and sliced and served them with goat cheese (he got this cheese today - for free - and straight- from-the-cheesemaker, that's a sweet hookup). And I got the honor of crumbling the cheese over the beets. I think it was an adequate proportion of beet to cheese, thank you. Dressed it up with a little radish, carrot, S&P, and O&V. Delish!

Turns out that wasn't the last I saw of Heavy Cream. You guessed it: Dessert! Chef started a-whipping up that cream mid-blog, and appeared with a bowl in hand. What is this? Homemade applesauce topped with cinnamon handwhipped-whip cream with a sprinkling of granola. Oh calories, how I love thee!  Well, it is very rare that I do get a dessert outta this guy :) And to conclude this evening, one last giggle...fava beans....Silence of the Lambs...
 

por que

Why do I eat out when I can eat @ Chef's table?

You guessed it, a disappointing, overpriced dinner out. Forcing me to snack on Old Bay popcorn - thanks for letting me take the PopAire, MA!

...stay tuned...tomorrow is CSA delivery day and it will be farmer's choice (sooprise basket!). The suspense is painful!